Phoenix Coyotes tough guy Brian McGrattan has voluntarily entered stage 1 of the substance abuse and behavioural health program of the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, the NHL announced Saturday.

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Phoenix Coyotes tough guy Brian McGrattan has voluntarily entered stage 1 of the substance abuse and behavioural health program of the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, the NHL announced Saturday.

Under terms of the program, McGrattan will continue to receive his full salary and benefits and will have no penalty imposed as long as he complies with the prescribed treatment and followup care program.

The league did not say what was the exact cause of McGrattan’s problems.

McGrattan, 27, a six-foot-four, 234-pound native of Hamilton, Ont., spent the first three seasons of his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round, 104th overall, of the 1999 NHL entry draft, but never played for the team. The Senators signed him as a free agent in June 2003.

During his three seasons in Ottawa, he played 143 games and totalled 287 penalty minutes.

Before reaching the NHL, McGrattan played three seasons with the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., where in the 2004-05 season he set the AHL’s single-season record for penalty minutes with 551.

On June 25, McGrattan was traded by the Senators to the Coyotes for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft.

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